The handset managed 8h 32m in our continuous video playback test, which is a strong result and bodes well for all-day battery life.

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The article also stated that another home screen could be set as default for those of us not completely enamored with BlinkFeed. All in all, a positive review which solidifies my decision for this phone.

After a couple of days of heavy use, my concern with the modest 2300mAh battery has proven to be unfounded. The HTC One is a battery champ. It isn't a RAZR MAXX, but it is close. Despite the larger and higher resolution display; and quad core processor, the HTC One easily last through a normal work day. During my first full day with the One, the battery lasted nine hours before I had to fish out my portable charger.

Know that startup noise you get when turning on a phone for the first time? The HTC One just about blows you away. That's the first sign of how good these speakers are.

It's going to take a little [getting] used to reaching to the top left to turn the power off and on. That's user error, though. Not the phone's fault.

I'm pretty quickly digging the new font in Sense 5.

Damn, it feels good in the hand.

Super LCD 3 display -- should be on every smartphone.

This is a European version, so no AT&T LTE, but HSPA works just fine.

If you're worried about BlinkFeed getting in the way of a more standard Android experience, don't be. One quick swipe and you're at the usual home screen.

Speaking of BlinkFeed, I quickly get the feeling that the key is going to be not overloading it with feeds. Find what's really important and stick with it.

Still not sold on the home button being in the bottom right, but figuring it out for Google Now and multitasking is simple enough.

I've yet to try to tap the HTC logo. But that's because I'm consciously reminding myself that it's not a button.

Wondering how long it takes me to scratch up the aluminum body.

Gotta go play with that camera now.

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Not to just overlook all the positive aspects of this phone, because I can see them, (SLCD3!, beautiful Unibody design!, new Camera, Sense 5, etc.)

...But WHY, why, why, do we have to play musical chairs buttons every year?
I don't expect things to be exactly the same each and every year. There is some room for flexibility here, but a little more consistency would go along way. I know this is petty stuff but dropping a functional button for a pointless logo is absolutely frustrating. I don't really love the bandied about idea of having no physical buttons, in favor of on screen buttons, but If you go so far as to dropping one button and using the real estate for a logo, you may as well just drop ALL buttons.

Speaking of buttons...
As Aliveon2legs mentioned in one of these threads around here (I hadn't even realized/thought of it until he mentioned it.) Why no camera shutter button, HTC? Even if it required a few more prep minutes and difficult cuts on the CNC machine, plus a little extra software programming, it would be a very worthy investment on what is supposed to be considered a high-end phone. A camera button would be 'icing on the cake', however I assert that 'icing on the cake' is pretty much a requirement when you are purposefully building a high-end device and "going all in" with it.

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So as to remain on-topic I bring to this thread yesterdays TechnoBuffalo content:

Going by the comments section underneath it seems they didn't do as much reviewing as they could have and more importantly wanted to be the first tech site to have the first review up of the phone. Shame, and frankly i agree.

In the review itself he even has a disclaimer saying:

Quick note: HTC tells me my review unit isn't a retail model. That should mean only that it's not in retail packaging, but it's possible that there are slight software changes coming over time. I'll update here if that happens.

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The Verge is a major commercial tech site which attracts a LOT of hits. If they're going to do a definitive review the phone they should be reviewing should at least be the final release model.